A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to creating fox holes in the ground, and in particular, to a device for digging a small diameter hole several feet into soil or ground into which can be placed an explosive charge that when detonated, creates a foxhole. The device is versatile and durable for most uses, but is light weight, quickly and easily assembled, portable and manually operated for making the relatively small diameter bores into the ground. The invention also relates to methods of making such a device.
B. Problems in the Art
Foxholes, for military purposes, offer soldiers some protection from enemy fire. Historically and conventionally, the foxholes are created by soldiers using shovels to manually dig in the ground. To create a hole big enough for one or more soldiers is laborious and time consuming. The need for a quicker and easier way to produce foxholes has long existed.
The use of explosives was developed as an alternative. Explosives can quickly and without any human labor, create a substantial hole in the ground. The primary problem is that for best results, the explosive charge needs to initially be several feet beneath the surface of the ground. The state of the art to accomplish the placement of the explosives was to use mechanically powered machines to drill or bore a relatively small diameter wide hole several feet deep in the ground. The explosive is then placed in the bottom of the bore and detonated to create the foxhole.
The primary problem with such a system is that it requires utilization of the machine. Some of the machines are carried on and/or attached to automotive vehicles. Other machines may be separable from vehicle but are not portable in the sense that they can easily be carried by the foot soldier for substantial distances, and are not compact and light weight. Therefore, while the use of explosives represented an improvement over manually digging the foxhole, it still had certain disadvantages.
The concept was then developed of a portable manually operated soil digging device to create the bore for the explosive. Although this general concept exists, there is presently not known any satisfactory tool which can satisfy the need for a lightweight, high strength, compact and portable tool with quick assembly and disassembly, which is effective for many soil conditions. There is also not known any device which can be economically and efficiently manufactured.
Bucket augers used in soil sampling applications can bore small-diameter holes in the ground. They are generally fairly heavy for strength reasons and made from multiple parts which does not lend them to efficient and economical mass production. Their prime function is to grab and retain a sample of soil for examination.
Hand-operated bucket augers are known in the art and have been used for a number of years for obtaining soil samples from below ground surface. The basic form of a bucket auger is an elongated cylindrical member having a hollow interior. The distal or outer end includes cutting blades or teeth for not only cutting into the soil, but also breaking it up. As the bucket auger is worked downwardly in the soil, the hollow body receives the soil which has been cut and loosened. The cutting blades and the re-compaction of the soil in the bucket auger body allows the tool to be withdrawn with the soil intact. Normally either openings exist along the sides of the body or removable covers exist to allow soil inside the hollow body to be removed. The bucket auger is then reinserted into the bore and digging continues to a desired depth. For relatively deep bores, handle extensions can be utilized. The basic operation of the bucket auger is to utilize a handle to advance the body manually by exerting downward and rotary force to produce a cutting and screwing action into the soil to create the bore. The cutting blades, are configured to work on the principle of a rotating inclined plane.
Generally the use of bucket augers is to bore a hole to a certain depth to then extract a soil sample for analyzation. To accomplish this, either the bucket auger is used, which retains the soil in generally the same vertical sequence as it existed in the soil or since the bucket auger disturbs the soil, other times more specialized soil sampling tools are utilized to obtain the soil sample.
Bucket augers are used in many environments and soil conditions. Therefore, they tend to need to be made of very strong and durable materials. For example, such materials need to resist breakage if used in very hard soil or rocky soil. Moreover, because substantial stress and force are exerted on the bucket auger, and every connection to the handle which is used to rotate the auger in the soil, all those parts also need to be made of strong durable materials. Conventionally, bucket augers tend to be made of a number of different pieces which are connected to one another. There also tends to be substantial discontinuities in the surfaces, such as weld lines, square edges, etc., which impede smooth movement of the auger through the soil or soil into the auger. Bucket augers are not effective, however, in dry or fluid sands or in soil that includes stones that are substantial in size compared to the diameter of the bucket auger.
Therefore, most bucket augers are relatively heavy because of these needs. Also, the joints and connections between the bucket auger and any extensions and handle are generally made to be very strong, further adding to the weight. This also usually adds to the complexity and time needed to assemble and disassemble the tool.
Furthermore, because such specialized ground working tools have these needs, they are generally fairly laborious to make and involve a significant amount of expense and time to manufacture from the standpoint of materials used, labor to shape, form and assemble parts, and other manufacturing steps.
Still further, the nature of these conventional bucket auger tools does not lend themselves to easy and portable transport and quick and easy setup and disassembly.
The problems faced by soldiers is that conditions surrounding the soldier, for example in warfare, are not ideal. If the soldier is under fire, time is particularly of the essence to create the bore in the soil and then to detonate the explosive to create the foxhole. If in nighttime, it is particularly critical to allow easy and quick assembly of the tool, even with minimal vision capabilities.
There is therefore a real need in the art for a device which improves over the problems and deficiencies in the art. It is therefore a principle object of the present invention to provide a device for facilitating the creation of foxholes with explosives and method for making the same which represents an improvement in the art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which is easy to mass produce.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which can be made to be light but of substantial strength.
A still further object of the present invention is to a provide a device as above described and method of making the same which is economical to manufacture.
Still further object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which can be made with efficient use of materials.
Still further object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which is better adaptable for portable and compact transport and easy and quick set up and disassembly in less than ideal environmental conditions without the need or requirement of additional devices or tools.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which allows for easy portable transport and then quick and easy boring of a relatively small diameter hole up to several feet in the ground.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which is strong, durable, and economical.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which produces a ground working body which has a minimum number of seams or surface discontinuities.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent with reference to the accompanying specification and claims.